You see, in 85, I graduated from high school. And oh how do I miss those curls.

Bowling For Soup is, of course, the band that brought us 1985. For those of you hoping for a music reference to 1985, you obviously haven’t been paying attention. I made a veiled reference to the year in this post on the legal ethics of social media.

To paraphrase, back in my high school days, it was Springsteen, Madonna, (and) way before Nirvana. There was U2, and Blondie, and music still on MTV. I don’t have kids, not to mention 2 kids in high school, but, if i did, I’m sure they’d tell me I’m uncool for being so preoccupied with . . . 19 . . . 19 . . . 1985.

Onto the quiz!

Rules

None. Open book, open search engine, text-a-friend.

Exception: Question 5. We try to play that one honest.

Unless stated otherwise, the Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct apply

Team entries welcome, creative team names even more welcome.

E-mail answers to michael.kennedy@vermont.gov

I’ll post the answers & Honor Roll on Monday

Please don’t use the “comment” feature to post your answers

Please consider sharing the quiz with friends & colleagues

Share on social media. Hashtag it – #fiveforfriday

Question 1

By rule, and at a minimum, an attorney’s trust accounting system must have 4 features. Three of the required features are:

By rule, Lawyer is to a representation’s means, as Client is to a representation’s _____________.

I guess it would’ve looked like this on the SAT:

Lawyer: Means :: Client: ___________

Question 3

Lawyer is an associate at Firm. Tomorrow, Lawyer intends to provide short-term limited legal services to clients at a walk-in clinic sponsored by a nonprofit organization. Neither Lawyer nor her walk-in clients will expect Lawyer or Firm to provide continuing representation to the clients. By rule, which set of rules will be (somewhat) relaxed, insofar as they relate to Lawyer’s work at the walk-in clinic? The rules on:

A. Conflicts of Interest

B. Malpractice Insurance

C. Diligence & Competence

D. Client Confidences

Question 4

In a dispute between Plaintiff and Organization, Plaintiff’s counsel has actual knowledge that Attorney represents Organization. Without providing notice to Attorney or asking permission, Plaintiff’s counsel interviews a former employee of Organziation about the matter that is the subject of the dispute.

Which is most accurate under Vermont’s Rules of Professional Conduct:

A. Plaintiff’s counsel did not violate the rules.

B. Plaintiff’s counsel violated the rules.

C. Whether Plaintiff’s counsel violated the rules turns on whether the former employee was in “the control group.”

D. Whether Plaintiff’s counsel violated the rules depends on whether Plaintiff has filed and served a lawsuit in which Attorney has entered an appearance.

Question 5

Hint: even if you didn’t see this in the news, you can figure this one out by paying close attention to the question.

Earlier this week, a federal appellate court rejected a proposed settlement in a class action lawsuit. In so doing, the court noted that a “class action that seeks only worthless benefits for the class and yields only fees for class counsel is no better than a racket and should be dismissed out of hand.”

I have no idea whether the class’s attorneys violated Rule 1.5. However, I do know that the proposed settlement called for:

each of the 10 lead class members to receive $500 and a promise that, going forward, the defendant’s restaurants’ buns would be at least 12 inches long; and,